Malta legislator becomes 3rd female EU Parliament president

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Christian Democrat Roberta Metsola of Malta has been elected president of the European Union’s parliament. Metsola was the candidate of the parliament’s biggest group, and she received 458 of the 616 votes cast on Tuesday. She succeeds Italian Socialist David Sassoli, who died last week. Metsola is only the third woman elected to the post. The election means three of the four biggest jobs in the 27-nation bloc are now held by women, with Ursula von der Leyen serving as president of the EU’s executive commission and Christine Lagarde running the powerful European Central Bank. Metsola is the first politician from Malta to hold such a high position in the EU.